Focus Malaysia News Excerpt – Part 3

PENANG MOVES

Aside from the affordable housing and high-rise property development segment, Vizione is also working to expand its footprint in other construction segments.

Over the past two years the group has been steadily developing its expertise in infrastructure projects.

It announced a big win on Sept 3 when its joint venture with Vertice Bhd won a RM815 mil contract from Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) for a project on Penang island.

The contract is for the construction of a bypass from Bandar Baru Ayer Itam to Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.

It comes under Package 2 of the RM6.3 bil Penang undersea tunnel project which will connect the island and the mainland.

The project comprises four packages and Vizione plans to bid for other contracts, too. The outcome will be known sometime next year. “For Packages 3 and 4, it (CZC) is at the stage of finalising (details) with the state government and the detailed designs of the two packages,” he explains.

In January, CZC was in the news when its directors were investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission relating to the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project.

Ng is hopeful that this is just the first of many contract wins for Vizione in Penang, and believes there are likely to be many opportunities to capitalise on in the state.

“Penang will be quite vibrant and so Vizione will be putting some focus on jobs in the state. The state government is not new and it knows what it wants to do. So we will be putting more effort and time into that state,” he opines.

Vizione also plans to tender for more infrastructure projects in other Peninsular Malaysia locations and in Sabah.

It has already bid for some Public Works Department road projects and plans to be more aggressive in this area going forward. Presently, Vizione has an orderbook of RM2.8 bil and this should provide earnings visibility until 2022 or a little earlier depending on the pace of work.

Ng believes that a tender book increase and more contract wins could possibly come in the wake of the tabling of Budget 2019.

He feels the new government is still settling down and putting its policies in place. Once that happens, contract flows should resume. “We will be participating in more contract bids, and maybe following the Budget in November, we will hear some good news,” he says.

DIVIDENDS

Although Vizione’s financial health is improving, Ng says the group will hold off from establishing a dividend policy for now.

“At the moment we need a little bit of time (to normalise everything), but we will definitely look into a dividend policy once our results show continuous improvements,” he says.